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Thoughts on getting old vs aging
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I resolved long ago that I am going to be the cool grandma that rides the roller coasters and goes on hikes with the grandkids ... I can't do that unless I am in the gym and eating right! I tell my kids why I am doing what I do and they tell me not to rush them! No worries! I will enjoy myself in the meantime6
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I downloaded the book "younger next year" based on this thread and tbh I wasn't all that impressed by it. I didn't realize that it is definitely geared towards men, and the older guy narrator threw around a lot of causal sexism, which I was kind of taken aback by. And it was really repetitive in its message. I did get some value out of it (upped my cardio to 6 days a week) - just an fyi.
My mom is 85 and can barely get around by herself - she needs a walker and/or to hold on to me for dear life when walking anywhere. I take care of all her financial and medical needs. By contrast I had a client come in last week to take care of her own taxes. She came straight from the pool where she swims 3 times a week. We chatted about spring garden clean up coming up, and caring for pets. Took a look at her info when she left and she is 88. I am striving for the latter.
Younger Next Year (YNY) is defo for men and your summary is spot on. I too found it to be unimpressive...but a few parts were very good. The chapter call QUIT EATING CRAP was spot on. More exercise - also spot on. The chapter where they talked about adding weight training to the nursing home was awesome...bedridden people made it to walkers, people on walkers made it to canes, people with canes walked without support, etc. The cute stories got old. That whole book could be boiled down to "eat right and exercise regularly."
In my opinion YNY is a book for "men" who have let themselves go and need to get on track and are at Day 1 of their journey. If you are already at the gym and have regular routines of good diet and exercise, only parts of this book will be helpful.
BTW - I am 58 y.o. and today I am adding a 1/2 mile swim to my 17 mile bike ride. It is also starting to get warm enough to run outside and get off of the dread-mill. My second Sprint-Tri is in July.9 -
The dread-mill...I love it! I have never heard it called this before, but it’s the perfect moniker.4
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However, a reduction in the risk of stroke and maybe dementia are enough to encourage me to keep moving, as well as keeping learning new things for brain food. I suppose learning a new sport would do double duty there. Skiing? Tennis? Croquet? Anyone start a completely new sport/activity later in life?
I’m only 41, but this is definitely on my mind as well (Alzheimer’s is in my family)
I decided several years ago to learn something new every year. Particularly something that has a physical aspect to it.
Running, powerlifting, aerial silks/trapeze (this unfortunately only lasted a year because the place I went was a bit out of my budget), boxing, BUT the really hard one was tap dancing.
the other things had technique aspects I had to learn as well as physically implement, but as a 37yo who couldn’t reliably clap along to the beat when listening to music, tap required me to learn how to properly hear music as well as get my feet to do the steps! But it was a fun challenge.
Not sure what I’ll choose next, or which ones will stick long term. Also, after a few more years I’m thinking it will be hard to come up with new things, so I’ll either have to space it out to every few years, or just get really creative.8 -
As you age you gotta train smarter. Your body won't cover for you if you have poor eating and training habits. There is a book that really helped me in that regard. It is by an influential author/coach in the triathlon & running world, Joel Friel, entitled, "Fast After 50: How to Race Strong for the Rest of Your Life". It draws on current research from aging and sports performance. It won't get you off the couch, but if you're already training and trying to stay in the game it is right up your alley. It really helped me understand how my body responds to training as I age and how to avoid over training, injuries and setup a training plan that works.0
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us Baby Boomers rock. 60 is the new 40 right? We danced during the birth of rock n roll... danced to the Summer of Love / Woodstock era / danced all night thru the disco Saturday Night Fever party fueled years...danced thru the 80s classic rock / Heavy Metal / Country and still dancing with the new Ga Ga music of 2019... age is a number and I'm not giving mine up yet.4
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ttippie2000 wrote: »As you age you gotta train smarter. Your body won't cover for you if you have poor eating and training habits. There is a book that really helped me in that regard. It is by an influential author/coach in the triathlon & running world, Joel Friel, entitled, "Fast After 50: How to Race Strong for the Rest of Your Life". It draws on current research from aging and sports performance. It won't get you off the couch, but if you're already training and trying to stay in the game it is right up your alley. It really helped me understand how my body responds to training as I age and how to avoid over training, injuries and setup a training plan that works.
+1 for Friel's "Fast After 50".
I love how he lays out all the physical factors that come into play as we age, but then describes specific actions we can take to maintain performance and delay the onset of performance degradation as we age. The two most compelling concepts to me are 1) You have to continue to go HARD on the hard days if you want to maintain high performance and 2) We need longer recovery between hard efforts as we age. Regarding #2, he even notes that some older athletes have had great success by adopting a 9 day training "week" as a method of ensuring greater time separation between quality training sessions.3 -
I turned 51 in December and let bother me for a while. I'm trying to get back into half-marathon shape where I was just 4 years ago. I've had some health issues recently that have really bothered me and interfered with my getting back into shape. I'm determined to be healthy and active to my last day. I have 11 children (yes 11) 25 to 2.5 years old. I want to live to see all of them married have kids. That is my goal.4
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My grandpa... I'm embarrassed to say I don't know how old he is. Late 80's or so... he still gets up at 4 or 5am every morning and goes to the gym. He's healthy, looks great. I think, if you don't use it you lose it. Seeing the differences in the way active vs non-active people age is really quite alarming. That is my main motivation for staying healthy and active.4
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Great posts, I've enjoyed reading this a lot. Living in the PNW (transplant from the Deep South) has been really motivating to me (37 yo) that you *CAN* age gracefully & with strength. Seeing all the old goats out on the trail inspires me, compared to the "after 50 it's all downhill" model I witnessed in my birth state.6
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Likewise oldsters! Fitter now at 52 than I was at 32. Not sure I would be able to do the gym at 4 AM now 😂 I like my bed!!3
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I know the comments are out of concern though, so I'm not taking them to heart. Even so, there's just no compelling reason yet to just stop.
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@skytuner posted this video in the "Over 60 still trying" thread. More proof that there are great benefits from continuing to be active and workout as you age (gracefully ).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OUdO2Y_Mm89 -
Another inspiration.1
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Sigh. I am 44 and just found out today that I have arthritis in my knee. I am really active and my knee has been slowing me down for years already. This feels like a nail in the coffin.
Wrong thread? Sorry for being a Debbie Downer. Any wisdom/advice?1 -
Oh you guys. Yer just all ascared to get old3
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Sigh. I am 44 and just found out today that I have arthritis in my knee. I am really active and my knee has been slowing me down for years already. This feels like a nail in the coffin.
Wrong thread? Sorry for being a Debbie Downer. Any wisdom/advice?
Yes @rosiorama , I have advice. Stay really active.
I know that sounds trite, but I don't mean it that way. I've had arthritis in both feet for over 25 years, bad knees, torn rotator cuffs (one is repaired, the other, nyet...) as well as a few other "issues" and there are folks here who could double my list easily.
That said, I get your frustration, really do. Find work arounds, keep the spirit and mind healthy and happy, and learn to look around and see what life puts in front of you. I've been contending with an illness for weeks now and was feeling kind of pity party yesterday about it while gassing up my truck, and then notice two pumps over is a guy standing on two prosthetic legs gassing his vehicle up. My pity party came to a very abrupt end.
I understand the frustration, but don't let it dictate to you how you feel or stop you from doing what you can.
I'd offer a hug, but I have germs and you don't want them lol.10
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